Mekong Delta needs more than Bt100 bn for infrastructure
The Mekong Delta region will need more than 86.3 trillion dong (Bt104 billion) in the 2016-20 period to develop key infrastructure projects to fuel its economic growth, according to the Vietnamese Transport Ministry.
Around 65 trillion dong of the total funding will go to road projects. The remaining money will be spent on waterway developments and aviation facilities.
“Infrastructure projects play an important role in the region’s economic and social developments. Local authorities should diversity investment methods to attract investors,” Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, head of the Southwest Steering Committee, said at a recent conference in Can Tho, a city in the Mekong Delta region.
According to Ninh, the sources spent on developing and upgrading the region’s facilities from 2010 to 2015 were 2.7 times the amount in the 2005-10 period.
More than 58.7 trillion dong from the state budget was spent on completing transport projects in the last five years.
Five projects with total investment of more than 39.3 trillion dong funded by official development assistance (ODA) were completed, including the project linking Rach Gia City of Kien Giang to Ca Mau province, and the Vam Cong and Cao Lanh bridges in Dong Thap province.
Additionally, seven projects with total investment of 22.8 trillion dong under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model are under construction.
The ministry has worked with local authorities to develop 34 projects to build and upgrade 1,036 kilometres of road and 60km of bridges, worth 52.5 trillion dong.
These projects, including the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong Highway, Quan Lo-Phung Hiep National Road, and Can Tho and Ham Luong bridges, play a key role in social-economic developments and national defence in the region and country in general, the ministry says.
The first phase of the Cho Gao Canal project has been completed with investment capital of 787 billion dong.
The construction of both Can Tho and Phu Quoc airports has helped link localities in the region and other parts of the country and the world, the ministry says. Local transport vehicles attracted 4.6 billion passengers and more than 468 million tonnes of products from 2010 to June 2015, a year-on-year increase of 4.4 and 4.9 per cent respectively.
The ministry is working on 24 projects with funds from different sources, including the state budget, governmental bonds, ODA and BOT.
Major transport projects will be put into use next year, including the upgraded National Highway 91, the expanded National Highway 63 section in the centre of Ca Mau, the National Highway 61B section from Vinh Tuong Intersection to Long My Town in Hau Giang province, and the National Highway 54 section in Dong Thap province.
It will also build and upgrade local waterway and marine systems to contribute to developing the country’s marine economy.
